Rural Development Ministry Launches National Push for Women Entrepreneurs

16 Jan 2026 CW Team

DAY-NRLM aims to bring a transformational change in the income levels of rural women through diversified and sustainable livelihoods. Promotion of non-farm enterprises has emerged as a critical pathway in achieving this objective. Over the years, initiatives such as the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme have demonstrated successful enterprise models supported by trained community cadres, who play a key role in enterprise identification, start-up support, mentoring and handholding at the grassroots level.

The Ministry has committed to enabling at least thirty million ‘Lakhpati Didis’, defined as SHG women members earning Rs 1 lakh or more annually. Achieving this ambitious target requires a significant scale-up of trained community-level enterprise support systems, which the new national campaign seeks to address.

The primary objective of the National Campaign on Entrepreneurship is to train and build the capacity of 50,000 community resource persons (CRPs) in enterprise promotion, while also imparting entrepreneurship development programme (EDP) training to 50 lakh SHG members associated with DAY-NRLM.

The launch event saw participation from senior stakeholders, including Advisor, NITI Aayog (RD&PR); Chairman, NABARD; and representatives from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, IFMR LEAD (KREA University), EDII and IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, along with State Rural Livelihood Mission (SRLM) CEOs and their teams.

The campaign is expected to deepen enterprise development across rural India, foster local economic growth and unlock the entrepreneurial potential of SHG women. By strengthening community institutions and linking grassroots enterprises with formal financial systems, the initiative aims to pave the way for a resilient, inclusive and self-reliant non-farm rural economy.

The Ministry of Rural Development has launched a National Campaign on Entrepreneurship to accelerate the promotion of non-farm rural enterprises and boost income generation among women self-help group (SHG) members under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana–National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). The campaign was launched on January 12, 2026, by the Additional Secretary (Rural Development).DAY-NRLM aims to bring a transformational change in the income levels of rural women through diversified and sustainable livelihoods. Promotion of non-farm enterprises has emerged as a critical pathway in achieving this objective. Over the years, initiatives such as the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme have demonstrated successful enterprise models supported by trained community cadres, who play a key role in enterprise identification, start-up support, mentoring and handholding at the grassroots level.The Ministry has committed to enabling at least thirty million ‘Lakhpati Didis’, defined as SHG women members earning Rs 1 lakh or more annually. Achieving this ambitious target requires a significant scale-up of trained community-level enterprise support systems, which the new national campaign seeks to address.The primary objective of the National Campaign on Entrepreneurship is to train and build the capacity of 50,000 community resource persons (CRPs) in enterprise promotion, while also imparting entrepreneurship development programme (EDP) training to 50 lakh SHG members associated with DAY-NRLM.The launch event saw participation from senior stakeholders, including Advisor, NITI Aayog (RD&PR); Chairman, NABARD; and representatives from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, IFMR LEAD (KREA University), EDII and IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, along with State Rural Livelihood Mission (SRLM) CEOs and their teams.The campaign is expected to deepen enterprise development across rural India, foster local economic growth and unlock the entrepreneurial potential of SHG women. By strengthening community institutions and linking grassroots enterprises with formal financial systems, the initiative aims to pave the way for a resilient, inclusive and self-reliant non-farm rural economy.

Real Estate

05 Aug 2026

CREDAI-MCHI to Host 10th Design & Construction Conference

CREDAI-MCHI will host the 10th anniversary edition of its Design & Construction Conference on August 19, 2026, at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai.The event is expected to bring together more than 500 procurement leaders, construction heads, architects, consultants and senior real estate decision-makers, alongside over 50 construction and ancillary brands.The conference will feature product launches, technology showcases, knowledge sessions, strategic business-to-business networking and recognition of procurement professionals contributing to the transformation of the construction..

Infrastructure Energy

05 Aug 2026

BorgWarner Wins Extension for High-Voltage Inverter Programmes

BorgWarner has secured a major extension of several high-volume high-voltage inverter programmes from a leading European automotive manufacturer.The contracts cover updated inverter designs for plug-in hybrid and 800V battery-electric vehicle applications. Production is scheduled to begin in 2029.Isabelle McKenzie, President and General Manager, BorgWarner PowerDrive Systems, said the programme extensions demonstrate the company’s position in power electronics and reflect the strength of its technology, in-house expertise and customer relationships.For plug-in hybrid vehicles, BorgWarner wil..

Infrastructure Urban

05 Aug 2026

Castrol India Q2 Profit Rises 43% to Rs 3.48 bn

Castrol India reported a 43 per cent year-on-year increase in profit after tax to Rs 3.48 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, supported by growth across its consumer, industrial and institutional businesses.Revenue from operations increased 25 per cent to Rs 18.71 billion during the second quarter of 2026, compared with Rs 14.97 billion in the corresponding period of 2025. EBITDA rose 41 per cent to Rs 4.94 billion from Rs 3.50 billion.Sequentially, revenue increased from Rs 15.45 billion in the first quarter of 2026, while EBITDA rose from Rs 3.29 billion. Profit after tax increased ..